Approach to Anima

Basically a trio, the self-proclaimed ‘ragtag collective’ of maya ongaku is based in the Ace General Store on their local shores of Enoshima, an island some 50km southwest of Tokyo. Cue sounds of nature: birds (including a cuckoo), waves lapping on boats, rain, running water and forest ambience, all supported by a kaleidoscopic percussive array of rain sticks, güiros, singing bowls, gongs, and possibly even a ticking clock. This is easy listening and syrupy, soft jazz, matching djembé to saxophone, acoustic and electric guitars to vocals, and a Rhodes piano to a Nord Stage 2.

Available on transparent or black vinyl, or, of course, streamed, everything in Approach to Anima is laid-back, speaking of a pleasant coastal lifestyle. The tracks progress from the ‘Scarborough Fair’-like ‘Nuska’ through the repeated single phrase of ‘Rakusai’, which introduces ‘Water Dreams’, to an evocative closing lullaby, ‘Pillow Song’. Japan is everywhere and yet nowhere in the mix.